Residents staged a "die-in" at the shuttered LBMC on Saturday, where they called on state and hospital officials to reopen the facility.

With LBMC expected to declare bankruptcy, and as merger talks with SNCH continue, Bernardino and others took issue with a report on Friday that SNCH said it intends to open a 24/7, 911-receiving free-standing emergency department at LBMC after it establishes an urgent care center at the facility sometime this spring. Bernardino and others said that such a plan has yet to be approved, and that the fight to reopen the facility was far from over.

“It’s not over until this thing is open — until we get back what we need to protect the residents here,” she said. “We need a public forum and to have our questions answered. Shame on you, Albany! It is not over until the facility is open immediately. What do you mean the spring? How many lives have to be lost before people understand how serious this is?”